I'll Protect You
by Shannin9473
Summary: [Story takes place in an AU] About a year after the incident in Akzeriuth, the young Luke had finally returned home, along with his 'older brother', Asch. The two were welcomed home warmly after their long absence, but it didn't seem that way to Luke. A feeling of distrust and hatred bothered him for the time being, until he finally said something to Asch.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow my first post. Okay. So, as stated in the description, this story takes place in an AU. So in this universe, how Luke was replicated, Asch's DNA was taken when he was kidnapped [at age 7 instead of 10], they used that DNA to make a replica, aaaand Luke came out as a baby replica. .3. (They're 7 years apart.) And then also, there's a slight change in the storyline, along with a few hidden spoilers. ********But then _some_ of the stuff that had happened in the storyline, still had happened in this universe too. **Some characters might be a bit OOC at times, but anywho, hope you like it!

**DISCLAIMER: I, OBVIOUSLY, DO NOT OWN TALES OF THE ABYSS. ALL CHARACTERS/ETC. BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNER.**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Nightmares_

"Big brother?" The young Luke called a bit silently as he had knocked against Asch's bedroom door. Though it was a little past midnight, Luke was a bit restless.

Asch heard the small knocks come from his door and he groaned, not wanting to be awoken from such a good night's rest, especially at this hour. But from the sound of his brother's voice, he stumbled out of bed and went to the door, then opening it and looked down to be met face to face with his younger brother.

"What is it, Luke?" The red-haired male questioned.

"I-I had another nightmare.." Luke said in response, had not wanting to go back into his room and lay in the darkness by himself after dreaming of such.

Asch sighed and welcomed Luke into his room, then closing the door behind him, and following his brother to his bed. Luke lied down on one side of Asch's bed, and Asch on the opposite. The two brothers faced each other.

"Honestly Luke.. What exactly is triggering your nightmares?" Asch asked questioningly.

"I-I don't know... But they're all the same, that's for sure.." Luke said.

"And they are?" Asch asks.

"I keep having nightmares of.. Everyone wanting to kill me.. And.. And then you almost.." Tears welled in Luke's eyes, not wanting to think of the countless nightmares, though they were but a mere figment in his imagination.

"Hey." Asch said, cupping his brother's face in his hands. "Don't cry.. It's just a nightmare, and whatever it was, will never happen.." He says.

"But what if it does?" Luke asks, sniffling.

"Then I will protect you no matter what, Luke.. Even if it costs me my life." Asch said, wiping away Luke's tears with his thumbs and then holding him close.

They lied there in silence until Luke had finally spoken.

"Asch.." Luke choked out.

"Yes?" Asch said in response to his brother.

"Why does everyone hate me..?" Luke asked.

Asch pulled away from Luke a bit and looked at him sternly. "Luke, no one hates you."

"But.. The maids and the townsfolk.. Keep saying things about me.. I hear them talking when I'm passing by them.." Luke says.

"That's just how the lower class are, Luke." Asch says.

"But I don't see them talking bad about you, Asch.." Luke says. "Even mother and father hate me.. I overheard them talking one night." He says after, new tears forming in his eyes.

Asch frowned slightly and held his brother close once more. _"Those damned bastards.."_ He thought.

Asch never really showed any sort of love towards his parents, ever since he and Luke had returned from their long absence. He felt that their love towards him was fake. As a matter of fact... He didn't really love anyone else, aside from his younger brother, Luke. The boy whom he loved and cared for so much. And he wasn't going to stop at anything to protect him.

"Just... Don't worry about it too much, Luke." Asch said as comfortingly as possible. Luke gave a nod and rested his head on Asch's shoulder as he then fell asleep. Asch smiled at his younger brother and planted a kiss on his forehead before he himself drifted of to sleep.

_"You were never meant to be here."  
"You're just a stupid replica!"  
"You should just die!"_

* * *

Luke woke up from his slumber, his nightmares from the previous nights still haunting him. He sat up, realizing that Asch wasn't there, and that it was already morning, seeing that the rays of the morning sun were flooding into Asch's bedroom. And so, he decided to head back to his own room and get ready for the day.

He stood up and headed out of Asch's room and towards his bedroom, looked for some clothes to wear, washed up, and went outside.

The sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze blew through the large town of Baticul. Luke wandered around aimlessly, in hopes of possibly finding his friends.

As he walked around, Guy just so happened to find him first. Guy was a good friend of Luke's ever since he was a little kid. Luke saw him as another older brother.

"Hey there Luke." Guy said, approaching the younger male.

"Oh! Hey Guy!" Luke said, running up to him eagerly.

"Whatcha up to?" Guy asked.

"Nothing much, just looking for the others." Luke said.

"Ah, I see." Guy said, then pausing for a moment. "..Oh wait.. Now that I remember, the others are actually busy today."

"Oh.." Luke says, a bit disappointed.

"Hey, at least I'm here though. And then we have Asch too." Guy says.

"Yeah, that's true." Luke says, smiling up at Guy.

Guy smiled down at Luke warmly. "What do you say we go and see what Asch is up to?" Guy says.

"Alright!" Luke says as he and Guy then head back to the Fabre Manor to search for Asch.

The two males wandered around the Fabre Manor halls, searching for Asch in every room. Along the way, there was an occasional bow from the maids but Luke hid behind Guy when they did so, seeing the respectful gesture as but a fake one, and his thoughts got the best of him.

The two soon heard Asch's voice come from a certain room. It was the meeting room to be exact.

"How long are you going to keep up your charade, Asch?" The voice of Duke Fon Fabre questioned.

"Charade? I actually see Luke as my true younger brother. I'm not dreck like you and mother that is merely showing him fake emotions." The voice of Asch snapped back.

"He nearly destroyed us all!" The Duke said back.

"And is that my problem?" Asch said back in a sassing tone.

The Duke grumbled something under his lip which was inaudible to Asch, along with Guy who was listening, and Luke who was shocked to hear what his _father_ was saying. The conversation continued amongst the two and soon finished about half an hour later.

"You will regret this, Asch." The Duke said.

"I can live with that." Asch said back. And with that, he exited the meeting room.

Luke had a horrified expression on his face, while Guy was trying to calm him down.

Asch was surprised to see the two as he exited the meeting room, and saw his younger brother's expression. "...You both heard, didn't you..?" Asch asked.

Guy and Luke nodded in response.

Asch sighed and Luke burst into tears and ran to Asch, the older male kneeling down to Luke's eye level and hugged him, attempting to comfort the young child.

"Shhh... You're going to be alright Luke.." Asch said as soothingly as possible.

"But father said-!"

Asch cut Luke off. "Who gives a damn on what he says? No matter what happens Luke, I _will_ protect you. You know that already." Asch said.

Luke buried his face in Asch's shoulder as Asch continued his attempt of comforting Luke.

"...Why don't we go for a walk?" Asch suggested once Luke seemed to be done crying.

Luke gave a small nod and Asch picked up the younger male and put him on his shoulders.

"Guy, care to come along?" Asch asked, seeing that Luke appreciated the company of the blonde male also.

"I don't see why not." Guy said, then following the two out of the Fabre Manor.

Halfway through their walk, Luke seemed to have fallen asleep while he was carried. Asch smiled up warmly at Luke and decided that it'd be best for them to stop somewhere. Guy had found a vacant bench and the three went over to it and sat there. Asch had taken the sleeping Luke off of his shoulders and was cradling him as he conversed with Guy.

"The poor kid.. I feel bad for him that he has to suffer through all of this.." Guy said.

"I just wish that everyone would see him as a normal person.. He's just a child.." Asch said as he brushed away a strand of hair from Luke's face.

"Well, ever since the whole Van incident occurred a year ago... I don't think they'll treat Luke any other way, anytime soon, regardless of the fact that he is.." Guy said.

"True.." Asch said with a sigh.

He caressed Luke's cheek with his gloved hand and Luke clung to Asch a bit. Asch simply smiled. "He's so cute when he's sleeping.." He thought. "Kind of makes me want to... Wait a minute.. Did I just think what I think did? And did I almost think of something worse?" Asch thought, a bit shocked. He shook the seemingly incestuous thought off, and let out another sigh.

"What's on your mind now?" Guy asks, noticing the numerous sighs that Asch had let out. _"He's probably stressed about the whole situation.."_

"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing.." Asch quickly says.

"Riiight.." Guy says, and then looks up towards the sky for a moment.

Asch simply continued to watch his brother sleep soundlessly, and peacefully. As the two sat there with Luke, there was then a sudden scream that came from the town square.

**~End of Chapter 1~**

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**Welp. That's the end of chapter 1! Hope you liked it! Please review and thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! I finally wrote chapter two! XD I would've written/posted it sooner, but I had slight writer's block, and I got awfully busy during the week. Anyways, here's chapter two. Enjoy! ~Shannin9473**

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_Chapter 2: "What's a Replica?"_

A sudden scream came from the town square, which grabbed Guy and Asch's attention.

"What was that?" Asch questioned.

"I have no idea.. We should go check it out." Guy said, standing up from the bench.

"Alright." Asch said, then looking down to Luke who was still asleep. "Luke... Luke wake up." Asch said as he gently shook the younger male. After a moment, Luke started to wake up.

"Mmm.. Asch..?" Luke said he blinked his eyes open, looking up towards his brother.

"Did you sleep well?" Asch asked.

Luke gave a small nod.

"Okay, good. We have to go to the town square because there might be trouble." Asch said.

"But I don't have my sword." Luke said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Who said you were fighting?" Asch asked.

"But I wanna help if anything did happen!" Luke said as if he were whining.

"No. I don't want you getting hurt." Asch said.

"But-!"

"No." Asch said once more in a more stern tone.

Luke frowned but knew that no matter how much he whined and pouted, if Asch says no, he means no.

"Just stay behind us Luke." Guy said.

"O-Okay." Luke said. He stood up along with Asch, Guy then leading the way to the town square.

* * *

"Please don't hurt her! She's just a child!" A lady said, seemingly the child's mother.

"Tell us where he is." A familiar teen said, holding the young girl by her shirt collar, ready to punch her.

"I-I don't know where he is! He's usually at the Fabre Manor!" The girl said, scared for her life.

"Thank you. That's all we needed to know." A familiar, odd looking man, Dist, said.

"Sync, release her." Another lady, whom was also familiar, Legretta to be exact, said.

The green haired teen let go of the younger girl and the girl scrambled to her mother.

"Now then.. All of you scram unless you have a death wish!" Sync said in a threatening tone.

The townsfolk quickly scrambled out of the area, back to their homes, and the only people that were left from the crowd in the town square, were Asch, Luke, and Guy.

"Ah, just the person I was looking for." Sync said to Asch, his usual mischievous smirk on his face.

"What do you want, Sync?" Asch questioned, glaring at the younger teen slightly.

"The boy, that's what." Sync said.

In other words, they wanted Luke. Guy stood in front of Luke, who was totally clueless as to what was happening.

"You think we'll simply let you take him from us? After what you've all done?" Asch asked.

"I never said that I was going to ask for him." Sync said.

Asch reached for his sword, as did Guy. Sync simply sighed. "Dist."

The older man flew behind Asch and Guy, grabbing Luke by his shirt collar and hoisting him up onto his flying chair.

"Luke!" Asch yelled.

"I got him!" Guy said, jumping up and ready to slash Dist.

But Sync ran and stopped Guy before he could and brought him down, Guy landing with a thud, along with a slightly large scrape near his shoulder. Asch then jumped himself and slashed at Dist, causing him to drop Luke. Asch quickly ran and caught his younger brother.

A click sound was then heard from behind Asch and he turned to be met with a gun to his face.

"If you don't want to die, give us Luke." Legretta said.

Asch glared at Legretta, about to say something, but Luke then jumped out of Asch's arms and landed in front of him, standing in front of Asch protectively.

"Luke, what're you-!"

"Please don't hurt him, miss Legretta! If it's me that you want, then take me! Just promise you won't hurt Asch, or Guy!" Luke begged, cutting off Asch's sentence.

Legretta stood there for a moment, and then lowered her gun. "Fine.." Legretta said.

She then reached out to Luke to take him with herself and the other two, but Asch held him back.

"Asch!" Luke said.

"Don't you dare touch him, you dreck!" Asch snapped.

"What's with you Asch? Ever since you came back from Akzeriuth and left the group, you've been... Different." Sync said.

"What's wrong with being protective of Luke, huh?!" Asch said back, now starting to get even more upset than he already was.

"Ah, so he has feelings for his replica.." Dist says.

_"Replica..?"_ Luke thought.

"He's not my replica, he's my brother!" Asch said.

Though, he knew, deep down, that Luke was merely his replica. But Asch didn't want Luke to know quite yet. He didn't want him to suffer even more than he already was. Just the fact of knowing that he was a mere copy of someone, would probably make his life even worse. He saw how Luke was to others. It was as if he were a different person, not a copy of Asch.

"You're deluding yourself, Asch.." Dist says with a sigh.

"Shut up!" Asch yelled, then running at Dist and striking him with his sword making a gash on his arm.

"Agh! You little-!"

Sync put a hand on Dist's shoulder, as a way of telling him to stop before matters were made worse. Dist held his bleeding arm and mumbled something as Sync then turned to Asch.

"Seeing that this is getting nowhere, we'll just leave you alone then." He said.

"Thank you mister Sync!" Luke said.

Asch was skeptical about what Sync had said. _"Since when does Sync just, give up, on trying to accomplish his mission?"_ Asch thought. "You better.." Asch said. "Come on Luke, Guy. Let's go."

Luke held onto Asch's hand as they then walked away, Guy slightly behind them, walking backwards to watch the other three to see if they were going to try do anything. When they seemed to be at a safe distance, Guy then turn to Luke and Asch and ran to catch up with them.

"Well that was... Random." Guy says.

"Tell me about it.." Asch says.

Luke tugged at Asch's sleeve. "Asch, what's a replica?" He asks.

Asch froze for a moment. "...I-It's nothing, Luke. When you're older." Asch said in response.

"Okay.." Luke said, a bit sad that his question wasn't exactly answered. _"Mister Dist called me a replica.."_ Luke thought. _"And in my dreams, people called me a replica too.. What exactly is that? And how am **I**, or how did I** become** one in the first place?"_

Luke then simply shook the thought off, seeing that it was too much for him to think about at once without having someone to talk to about it. He then brought his attention back to walking.

* * *

The three had soon arrived back at the Fabre Manor. It seemed a bit odd though, because none of the maids were anywhere to be seen.

"Do you think they're on their break?" Guy asks, glancing around for any of the maids.

"I highly doubt it. If they were smart, they'd at least leave a few to tend to any of the remaining errands around the place, while they're doing whatever." Asch says, looking around as they walked through the Manor.

Luke looked around, still holding onto Asch's hand and began to hear murmurs come from one of the manor rooms.

"Um.. I think they're in that room." Luke says, pointing towards the room in which the murmurs came from.

There was a slight crack in the door. Guy went over and peeked in, seeing all the maids in the room. It seemed as if they were having a meeting of some sort. Guy heard them mention something about Asch and Luke, and then pulled away from the door.

"Well?" Asch asked.

"Yeah, it was the maids.. They were talking about you and Luke." Guy said in response to Asch, then glancing down to Luke, who was frowning.

Luke looked up to Asch. "I told you.." He said.

"I know you did, Luke. But as I said before, that's just how they are." Asch said in response, though he probably knew what the maids were discussing. Especially if it meant all of them meeting in one room.

"Now then, we should probably get away from this area so they don't suspect anything." Guy suggested.

"Right.." Asch said.

The three then left the area and headed over to their rooms. Guy went to his room, and Asch walked Luke to his room.

"Asch, can you stay with me for a bit, please?" Luke asked as they stopped in front of his room.

"I don't see why not." Asch says. Anything as simple as that, he'd do for Luke. As long as it kept him happy. Just the company of someone else would keep Luke smiling for the rest of the day... Well, usually.

The two went into Luke's bedroom. His room was pretty small, but it was quite spacey, since all Luke had in there was a bed in one corner, a dresser across from it, and a small desk in another corner.

Luke took his shoes off and plopped himself down onto his bed, and Asch sat next to him.

"Tired?" Asch asked.

Luke nodded in response, and Asch chuckled slightly.

"You didn't really do anything though, while we were out in town." Asch said.

"Well, I was walking from the town square to here. Doesn't that count?" Luke asked, looking up at Asch.

"I suppose." Asch said, smiling slightly at Luke.

Luke rolled over on his side. "I'm still confused though.." Luke said. "About why mister Dist called me a replica.." Luke said after.

"I'm sure it was a mistake." Asch quickly said, not wanting the topic brought up again.

"But people in my dreams called me a replica." Luke continued. "I don't understand though. What's a replica? And why would they call me that?" Luke seemed as if he were now panicking "Is that why everyone hates me? Because I _am_-!"

"Luke." Asch said, stopping his brother halfway through his sentence. "Let's not talk about this subject right now.." Asch said.

Luke sighed. "Fine.."

"You should get some rest.." Asch said, seeing that a good night's rest would help calm Luke.

"Okay.. Can you stay here with me though until I fall asleep?" Luke asks.

"Sure." Asch said in response.

Luke leaned on Asch a bit and closed his eyes. He soon drifted off into sleep, Asch watching over him for a good hour or so, just in case Luke woke up during his slumber, and then left after seeing that Luke would be fine. Or so he thought.

**~End of Chapter 2~**

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**Hoped you all liked Chapter 2! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!  
**


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